USC gets positive reviews from Hand clan

DE Da'Shawn Hand of Woodbridge, VA, rated by some analysts as the #1 player in the class of 2014, wrapped up a two day visit to USC Sunday and had nothing but good things to say about his experience. "It was a great visit," Hand said. "Clowney is a fun guy, very genuine, very honest. I liked the entire coaching staff. The food was amazing. As far as football related facilities, every college has them, some are big and some are small, so that doesn't faze me anymore. The Dodie was very nice. I could see myself studying there." Hand has also visited Alabama, Michigan and Virginia Tech and will visit Florida at some point. That is by no means a list of finalists as he will likely visit others. And he's not ready to start formulating a favorites' list. "I'm not comparing and contrasting," Hand said. "I'll continue to take visits and then compare. I'm taking my time, having and enjoying my life." Hand was joined on the visit by his head coach Karibi Dede and by Dede's teammate at Auburn, former Spring Valley linebacker Travis Williams. "I thought it was a great visit," Dede said. "They did a really good job of giving a full picture of the program. He met with a professor about programs he's interested in and toured the campus. The opportunity to hang out with the players, and with Clowney, I thought that was a unique opportunity for him. He met with coach Spurrier. Coach ate lunch with Da'Shawn and I think it opened his eyes about how great a coach he is. And coach Adams, it's obvious the players love playing for coach Adams and coach Ward. It was a great opportunity to see a school that will be competitive and have a chance to win the (SEC) East." Dede said he will be working to get Hand to more schools he wants to visit including Florida and back to Alabama. Later this summer they will narrow the list to the final official visits. Dede can't say where USC fits in right now but the visit did nothing but help the Gamecocks in his opinion. "In terms of just South Carolina, it was just a smash hit."

The regular season ended last night for Huntington Prep, WV and the team won't play again until the national tournament in New York City in early April. That should give 6-10 center Levi Cook plenty of time to recover from a twisted knee that kept him out of last night's game. And it also will give him time to make his official visits.

OL Parker Boudreaux of Orlando reports an amazing total of over 70 offers at this point. About 15 of those programs have separated from the pack and Clemson is firmly in that group. Boudreaux visited Clemson last season for the North Carolina game and raved about the experience. He is returning this Saturday for a junior day and will bring...

OL Luke Elder of LaGrange, GA holds offers from about 15 schools including USC and Clemson. Some of his other offers are Ole Miss, Cal, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Florida State and Vanderbilt. He doesn't yet have favorites but he plans to formulate a top 10 or in the near future, and he...

Clemson holds its second junior day for the 2016 recruiting season this Saturday and one of the invitees is Bamberg-Ehrhardt OL Drew Wilson (6-4 290). Clemson has had a lot of success attracting top talent from the Red Raiders' program over the years and Wilson is another drawing the Tigers' interest according to assistant coach and recruiting...

OL John Simpson of Fort Dorchester won his first 4A heavyweight wrestling championship over the weekend. His wrestling season limited the amount of football recruiting travel he could get in over the past couple of months, but Simpson is ready to move forward with that now.